Rubik's cube
by melishade4ever
Summary: Set after 'Sky Witch.' Bubblegum demands an explanation on why Marceline wanted to go back and get Hambo, and why it was so important to her. Little did Bubblegum know that the story had more sadness and meaning to it, and that she would find out more about a certain ice wizard. Rated T, no shipping.


Bubblegum and Marceline jumped through the barrier of the enchanted Sky Witch and rolled on the grass. Bubblegum got up to her feet while Marceline was on her knees, hugging her stuffed animal.

"Hambo, I missed you so much." Marceline said with relief as tears came down her face.

"Ahem." Bubblegum coughed.

Marceline turned to see Bubblegum tapping her foot impatiently. Marceline quickly wiped the tears from her face and began to hover in the air.

"Um, thanks a lot for helping me get back Hambo." Marceline said awkwardly, "I'll repay you back with anything."

"Darn right you will," Bubblegum said, "I want an explanation. Why would you want my help to get back an old stuffed toy?"

"Old, stuffed toy?!" Marceline exclaimed, "This was given to me by a close friend!"

"Most people would get over stuff like that," Bubblegum explained, "Seems that you're pretty soft."

Marceline growled. "You don't know where I got this from! Hambo kept me company during that war before it formed Ooo! It was given to me by Simon before he lost his mind!"

Bubblegum looked at her in shock and curiosity as Marceline widened her eyes and covered her mouth, realizing the name she just said.

"Who's Simon?" Bubblegum asked.

"None of your business!" Marceline hissed.

"Tell me." Bubblegum demanded, glaring at her.

"No!"

"Tell me, or I tell everyone that your still obsessed over a stuffed animal." Bubblegum threaten with a smirk, "That would ruin your reputation, wouldn't it?"

Marceline growled and glared at her. It was either one person know about Hambo, or all of Ooo.

Marceline sighed. "Fine. I'll take you over to my place."

* * *

Bubblegum was slightly crept out by the cave, since it seemed really dark and scary, but when she saw Marceline's house, she was slightly confused. It was pretty well kept and everything looked nice.

The two landed on the front porch and Marceline opened the door and turned on the lights. Bubblegum looked around the house. It was neat, well kept, it had everything Marceline needed. Now that she thought about it, she probably hasn't even been over to Marceline's house before.

Marceline put Hambo on the couch before she went upstairs. Bubblegum, finding nothing else to do, sat down on the couch. She looked around and tapped her finger on her knee as she heard papers shuffling from upstairs. Marceline then came back downstairs with a bunch of papers in her hands.

Bubblegum slightly yelped in surprise as the papers were put on her lap, some of them falling to the floor.

"These are some papers that the Ice King let me have when he came over to my house," Marceline explained, "It will help with the story I'm about to tell, but if I found out that you told anyone about this-"

"I will not tell anyone." Bubblegum cut off gently, "You have my word."

Marceline sighed with slight relief. She then floated around the room, not knowing how to start the story. She was really telling someone about her past, about Simon, about the Ice King. She really wondered what Bubblegum would say when she was done explaining. What would she think of it?

Bubblegum didn't pay any attention to Marceline as she went through the paper, letting Marceline take her time. The paper were somewhat confusing. They had a lot of article based upon this one man called Simon Petrikov, and many of the papers had scribbles that she couldn't make out. She even saw a lady with pink hair next to him that reminded her of herself. She then found something that made her want to laugh, however she kept it in.

It was a picture of Marceline when she was a child, probably around the age of five to seven. She never knew Marceline's age since she was immortal. She turned the page over to see a small letter written on the back for her. She took a deep breath before she read it aloud:

**Marceline, is it just you and me in the wreckage of the  
world that must  
be so confusing for a little girl**

**And I know you're going to need me here with you but I'm**  
**losing myself**  
**and I'm afraid you're gonna lose me too**

**This magic keeps me alive but it's making me crazy**  
**And I need to save you but who's going to save me?**  
**Please forgive me for whatever I do when I don't remember**  
**you.**

"Yeah," Marceline sighed at the memory, "That was when Ice King came over and wanted me to help him make songs."

"For what?" Bubblegum asked.

"To get with you." Marceline answered.

"Figures," Bubblegum grumbled, "But first I hear Simon and then I hear the Ice King, can you please explain that to me."

_**The world is too heavy, too big for my shoulders  
Come take the weight off me now**_

Marceline was quiet for a moment before she began. "It was during the Mushroom War. I was alone in the city crying to myself. The cities were demolished, no one was around, and I didn't have any of my parents. Then that's when Simon found me and made me feel better. He gave me Hambo and told me not to cry anymore."

"I'm surprise that 'Hambo' is still intact." Bubblegum remarked.

_**Thousands of answers to one simple question  
Come take the weight off me now**_

"Well I did have him for over nine hundred years." Marceline said sheepishly, " And Simon was really nice and sweet. He was more of a father to me than my actual dad. Anyway, I began to travel with him as survivors of the war. We didn't really find any other humans along the way, but the more I stayed with him, the more I found out about his...problem."

"Problem?" Bubblegum questioned.

_**Oh, I'm like a kid who just won't let it go  
Twisting and turning the colors in rows  
I'm so intent to find out what it is  
This is my Rubik's cube, I know I can figure it out**_

"I noticed that Simon was carrying around a crown with him," Marceline explained, "And whenever he would put it on, it would make him see visions and go insane. He would act so cruel in that kind of state."

"How come Simon has not gotten rid of the crown?" Bubblegum asked.

"Because the crown really messed him up," Marceline answered, "If he got rid of it, then he would die."

_**Lost in the playground, late night nostalgia  
Open the sky for me now**_

Bubblegum looked at her with shock and anger. "That is not right."

"Nothing in life is ever right." Marceline remarked, "He would always put it one to protect me, but he began to lose his mind. He forgot who I was, he forgot his name, he forgot everything. When he completely lost his memory, he left me alone until my dad found me."

"What has Simon transformed into?" Bubblegum asked.

Marceline was quiet as she rubbed her arm. She took a deep breath. "Simon transformed into the Ice King."

_**Friends round the fire outside in December  
Open the sky for me now**_

Bubblegum's eyes widened and her mouth dropped. That was impossible! Kind and loving Simon was crazy and desperate Ice King?!

"WHAT?!" Bubblegum practically screamed, "No, no, no, no, no! That can't be possible!"

"It is." Marceline said calmly, "Simon put on the crown only once, and the magic started to take over. His hair changed to white, his nose got longer, and his skin was blue. He was no longer the Simon that I knew."

Bubblegum looked at her with sadness. "How old were you when Simon left?"

"I was around five or six. I don't really know. It was over nine hundred years ago, but I really remembered the day that he left."

_**Oh, I'm like a kid who just won't let it go  
Twisting and turning the colors in rows  
I'm so intent to find out what it is  
This is my Rubik's cube, I know I can figure it out**_

* * *

_Simon laughed manically as his beard and his nose grew longer. He was attack the mutant creature that came after them through the city. He told Marceline to wait in the car as he protected, but Marceline looked over with worry. She felt like something bad was going to happen._

_She saw that the creature were buried in snow as Simon slowly landed on the ground. But Marceline knew something was off because Simon was looking around in confusion. _

_Marceline then unlocked the door and ran to him. It was cold because of the snow, but she didn't really care._

_"Simon!" she called out as she looked at him, "Are you okay?"_

_Simon looked at her in confusion. "What-mon?"_

_Marceline widened her eyes in shock and fear. "Simon, stop messing around. Simon it's me, Marcy. Don't you remember me?"_

_"What are you talking about little girl?" Simon demanded, "I am the Ice King. I have the ability to control ice and snow."_

_Marceline shook her head as tears began to fall from her eyes. "You're not the Ice King! You're Simon! I'm Marcy! The crown is messing you up! Please, Simon! Please remember me! Pull yourself to-"_

_**SMACK!**_

_Marceline widened her eyes as she fell in the snow. She lifted her hand to her cheek. It was red and sore. She couldn't believe it. Simon had just slapped her. _

_More tears came from her face as she stood up and looked up at Simon to see him giving her a cold, dark, icy glare._

_"I don't know you." Simon sneered, "And don't you dare address me in that kind of tone."_

_"Simon." Marceline whimpered. He forgotten her. He really forgotten her. Then that meant the crown had won._

_Simon, now known as the Ice King, flapped his beard and flew away._

_"SIMON! SIMON, DON'T LEAVE ME! SIMON! SIMON!" Marceline cried as she held out her hand, trying to desperately grabbed what she couldn't reach. Simon disappeared from her sights, and he disappeared from her memories, forever._

_"No." Marceline whispered as she fell to her knees. She held herself and began to sob uncontrollably before she fell asleep in the snow._

* * *

_**Credits roll over the edge of horizons  
That I haven't discovered yet**_

Bubblegum widened her eyes as Marceline tried to hold back her tears. "Marceline..."

The two were quiet for a moment. Bubblegum looked through the papers one more time before she found the picture of Simon and the women who looked just like her.

"Marceline, do you know who this is?" Bubblegum asked as she pointed to the picture of the woman.

"That's Betty, Simon's, or Ice King's, former fiancée." Marceline answered, "She was in love with him, but after Simon put the crown and lost his mind, she left him, and he never saw him again."

_**Oh, I'm like a kid who just won't let it go  
Twisting and turning the colors in rows  
I'm so intent to find out what it is  
This is my Rubik's cube, I know I can figure it out**_

Bubblegum widened her eyes. It made sense! She was a scientist and smart, so it only took her a while to put two and two together. The reason why Simon was so desperate to go after princesses, especially her. Somewhere, Simon was in the crown, and he was trying to find Betty, and she was the closest look-a-like to her.

Bubblegum looked up to see Marceline's hair covering her face, but that didn't stop Bubblegum from seeing the tears from falling.

"Marceline?" Bubblegum spoke up.

_**Oh I'm like a kid who just won't let it go**_

"Do you know how hard it is?" Marceline asked, "Do you know how hard it was?! I tried everything to get Simon back! Everything! Do you know how painful it was when I would see him, knowing that he doesn't even remember who I am?! It hurts so much! I already have it bad enough that I don't have a mom, and my dad wants me to rule a dark realm! Hambo is the only thing I have left of him! I can't visit him anymore! I can't talk to him! I can't do anything! I'm...all alone."

_**Twisting and turning the colors in rows**_

Marceline collapsed on her knees and hugged herself as she began sobbing in front of Bubblegum. Bubblegum widened her eyes as she stood up, letting the papers fall to the floor. She walked over to Marceline, got on her knees as well, and hugged her. Marceline cried in her chest, messing up the jack she wore.

"I miss him." Marceline whimpered, "I miss him so much."

Bubblegum didn't say anything as he held her tighter. She's been through so much. Her being immortal, probably made it worse.

_**I'm so intend to find out what it is**_

"I can't save him. I can't save Simon. All I can do is watch as he's-"

"Trapped in the labyrinth of the crown." Bubblegum finished, "Marceline, I'm sorry."

Marceline didn't say anything as she continued to cry. She cried in Bubblegum's chest until she couldn't cry anymore and fell asleep.

_**This is my Rubik's cube I know I can figure it out**_

**Me: I really wanted to put up this one shot for a while after I saw the "Sky Witch" episode. I really like the Simon and Marcy relationship and I somehow hope that the Ice King will get his memories back and Marceline will be happy. The song is called "Rubik's Cube" by Athlete. The first time I heard this song was from a Simon and Marcy AMV. It's called "Simon & Marcy || I Remember You." by Eturnea Sage. So go check that youtuber out and subscribe to him or her. And if the characters seem OOC I'm sorry about that. None of them belong to me and please comment.**


End file.
